MMA legend Jose Aldo expected to make pro boxing debut on February 10

It looks like Jose Aldo will be stepping inside the boxing ring sooner than anticipated.

At first, it appeared Aldo would be putting on the boxing gloves in March. Anatoliy Sulyanov, the founder of Hardcore Boxing, claimed that Aldo was highly likely for one of its events in Dubai.

“On March 18th there will be a big Hardcore Boxing event in Dubai. I’m not going to tell you the names yet, but Jose Aldo and most likely even Sergey “Crusher” Kovalev will be on the card. Aldo will fight with 99.9 percent probability, we’re negotiating with Sergey now,” Sulyanov said (via telecomasia).

As it turns out, Aldo’s big pro boxing debut is happening sooner. MMAFighting.com reports that February 10 is the target date for Aldo’s entrance into the sweet science. The bout is said to be taking place in Brazil. Aldo’s opponent, weight class, and the number of rounds for the fight are unknown at this time.

While Aldo retired from pro MMA competition following his UFC 278 loss to Merab Dvalishvili, he never said he’d be leaving combat sports as a whole. Aldo told MMAFighting that boxing was in play post-MMA.

“I’m trying to see the best path I’ll take right now,” Aldo said to MMAFighting. “I won’t fight MMA, that’s for sure. I thank everybody calling me from other promotions, but I haven’t left the UFC, I remain under contract with them. I’ll see where I’ll fit… Boxing is a possibility. It was always a dream I had in my life, I never hid that from anyone. It was always a dream. But let’s see. Everybody says I’m still young, that I have a few years [left]. First, for now, with the birth of my son, I want to enjoy my family, and then I’ll think of the professional side.”